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Sunday, September 16, 2012

Exceeding the Limits

I got a speeding ticket last week on my way back home from the
vet’s office.Those who know me well
know this is not a total shocker, as I have always had a bit of a lead
foot.But I got the stinking thing in
the EXACT same place by the EXACT same police officer that I got my last one,
some four years ago.No lie.

You see, there’s this hill, right outside of
Evergreen on the back road towards home, that I always coast down.I am beginning to rethink that whole coasting thing. . .at least not
on the hills that fall within Evergreen City Police jurisdiction. Mmmm
hmmm.

My husband was not thrilled with me, of course. As I was driving home after being pulled
over, I was dreading talking to him and was trying to think of how to justify
it—err….defend it.I started thinking about
how many speeding tickets I had gotten since I narrowly passed my
license test at age 16 years old.The short
answer is too many! I’ve gotten six in that time period so that
averages out to about one every four years.Ugh! Is that above or below the national average?

The point that really struck me though, as I was driving very
s-l-o-w-l-y the rest of the way home and trying to overcome the nausea that had found its way into my belly, was what a terrible example I was setting for my nine-year-old daughter
and six-year-old dachshund about how NOT to obey authority. Well, okay so maybe
Bonnie wasn’t as affected by this as Abbey was, but still. I should not have been driving so fast. And I confessed my shame to Abbey. I know it's important for her to see her parents not be perfect.

Almost every day in our homeschooling life, Abbey and I are in a
constant tug of war.It’s me asking her
to “Get started,” “Get back to work,” “Stay focused,” “Stop dawdling,” “Stop
playing with the dogs,” “Focus focus, focus!” It is a battle of obedience; a
battle of the wills.And ultimately, I
am trying to teach her that obeying your
parents is the first form of learning to obey the Lord, and the Lord
expects us all to obey the laws set before us, both Biblically and governmental.Laws and boundaries are there for our safety.Although one could argue that 40 mph on a
straight, back road in the country is not exactly a realistic boundary. *Sigh*

And oh my goodness, I have sped through too many of God’s
laws in my life because I thought I knew better than He.I thought I could control my actions and
could be completely okay in doing so.I
am still paying for some of those choices of disobedience, because even when we
are repentant, we still have to walk out the consequences of our sins.But God in His mercy has still lavished
blessing upon me and is allowing me to experience mercy in ways I could have
never imagined. . .

I called the municipal court to find out about my court date
because I couldn’t even read the ticket that had been written to me—apparently legible
handwriting is not a requirement of being a police officer, but I digress.The clerk of the court told me I could go
before the judge and ask for defensive driving school, but there was a chance I
would lose and have to pay extra fees above and beyond my ticket fees. [Greaaaat.] Then he asked me the oddest thing: “Do you
give blood?” I was like, “You mean to the Red Cross? Yes, sir. I just gave some
last month.”“Good, let me see if I can
set you up a meeting with our local prosecutor prior to your court date. He
often allows you to give a pint of blood in exchange for the ticket.”I couldn’t believe my ears!But he was dead serious.I am actually meeting with that lawyer in a couple of
weeks to ask if my blood is enough to pay for my sin.I am praying that it is, as our budget has
zero room in it for such fees I will have to pay if I lose.But how odd of a sentence is that? And
how much clearer of a picture could I get about the beauty of the cross??!!!

Without having to meet with a prosecutor first, Jesus allows
me to go before the Judge without fear.He
gave ALL his blood to cover ALL my sins—even exceeding the speed limit on a
back country road in the middle of nowhere.

I am a very blessed soul and of this I am fully aware.

"The plan was that He give himself as an offering for sin so that He’d see life come from it—life, life, and more life.And God’s plan will deeply prosper through Him." Isaiah 53:10

1 comment:

Dude, I didn't post on this one, but I assure you if you lived in this household, you would be in fine form & company...Your B.I.L. had, for a time, an actual attorney on RETAINER to fix his tickets. HE averages about 2 per year - LOL! You may have a lead foot; he has a LEAD BRICK LEG! As for me? I don't speed an awful lot, but I DO run red lights all the time. Not unsafely, like through a busy intersection; I run the ones where I'm in the middle of absolutely nowhere and I can see NO ONE for miles in all directions. So I go. OR, when there is a left turn STUPID light that doesn't have a pressure plate, and I can see for 1/2 mile there is NO ONE coming, so...I go. I'm lucky and that's the ONLY reason I have no tickets. I, too, am grateful for the Blood HE shed for us on the cross, the suffering NO ONE can imagine. And I'm grateful for you, our older sister, and my family that loves me like none other!